The gardens were established in 1818, the second oldest Botanical Gardens in Australia – the Sydney Botanic gardens were founded two years earlier. The Gardens hold historic plant collections and a large number of significant trees, many dating back to the nineteenth century. It also has an increasing number of important conservation collections of Tasmanian plants, of which the King's Lomatia is one of the most unusual, and the world's only Subantarctic Plant House. Here, plants from subantarctic islands in high southern latitudes are displayed in a climatically-controlled environment, where chilly fogs and mists mirror the wet, cold conditions of their island homes (See Photo).
Two stand out features in the garden were the French Memorial Fountain and the Japanese Garden.
The French Memorial Fountain
The fountain commemorates the bicentenary of French exploration in Tasmania. The sculpture is built out of Huon pine and represents the bow and the sails of a French ship of that time. Inspired by nature, it is a unique sculpture that captures the essence of water in the landscape and its overall importance to life, while also gently highlighting its functional use by humans in history.
The Japanese Garden
Designed by Kanjiro Harada, a landscape architect from Yaizu, Hobart's sister city in Japan.
The garden emphasizes traditional Japanese garden elements of wood, stone, and water.
It includes waterways, a tea house, a waterwheel, and bridges (Sadly the waterwheel is hidden in shadow in my photo).
A peaceful place on a warm sunny afternoon.
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